Christina Haffler is the Art Teacher at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. Her previous teaching experiences include working at Second Presbyterian Weekday School as a long-term substitute Para-educator and volunteering at Camp Discovery as the Arts and Crafts Instructor. Mrs. Haffler graduated from the University of Kentucky in December 2015, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education and Art Studio and minored in Art History. In college, she had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain with the KIIS program at WKU. In addition to being a former Wildcat, Mrs. Haffler is also a former Valkyrie; she graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville where she earned her high school diploma and completed the International Baccalaureate program for Visual Arts. Aside from teaching, Mrs. Haffler loves reading books and comics, catching up on her favorite TV shows and movies, sewing and costuming, and creating art!
Megan Brown - Service Learning Coordinator -
Megan Blandford Brown is the Learning Service Coordinator at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. She is a proud alumna of both Mary Queen and Lexington Catholic High School. Megan earned her M.S. in Communicative Disorders through the University of Louisville. She has over 17 years of experience in working with children, ages 6 months to 18 years with a variety of speech/language delays/disorders in individual, group and classroom settings. She and her husband, Robert Brown have 3 children and are members of Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary Church as well. She feels blessed to be part of the team at Mary Queen where all types of learners can receive Catholic education.
Beth Ortegón - Elementary Spanish Teacher -
Mrs. Ortegón is in her seventh year teaching at Mary Queen but has been teaching Spanish and working with the Spanish-speaking community in central Kentucky for many years. She holds a B.A. in Spanish and Italian from UK, a Masters in Spanish from UK, and a Masters with Rank 1 from Georgetown College with an endorsement in ESL as well. She is married to Oswaldo and has a daughter, Colleen and a son, Oscar. Mrs. Ortegón loves to travel, read, listen to and play all kinds of music, and play outside.
Christine Hayes - Technology/Media Specialist -
Christine M. Hayes is the Technology/Media Specialist at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. This is her seventh year teaching at MQHR and her 14th year teaching in the Diocese of Lexington. She is an alumna of Mary Queen and Lexington Catholic. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky and her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from The University of the Cumberlands. She is married to her husband Rick, and has a 1st grader here at Mary Queen. Together they have a turtle named Crush, and a bird named Winston. She is also the Tiger Cub Scout den leader at Mary Queen. Mrs. Hayes loves technology, playing board games, and watching Sharks Hockey.
Jimmie Newsome - Technology -
Bio to come. .
Christie Burnette - Physical Education Teacher -
Christie Burnette, or Coach B to her students, is the PE and Middle school Health Teacher and most recently has joined the counseling department at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. She is in her 14th year of teaching here at Mary Queen. Coach B was a 2004 graduate of Lexington Catholic, received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Kentucky in Kinesiology and Health Promotion, her Master's degree from Georgetown College in Teacher Leadership and ESL and just finished her Rank 1 in School counseling at Campbellsville University. She is originally from New Jersey, where the rest of her family resides but has settled in Kentucky with her husband Stephen and her two kids, Holden and Kenzie.
Maggie Ringe - Middle School Spanish Teacher -
This is Ms. Ringe's ninth year of teaching at Mary Queen, although the school has long been a part of her life. She is an alumna of MQHR, graduating in 1999. Ms. Ringe has taught Latin and Spanish at Carter G. Woodson and completed her student teaching at Lexington Catholic and the Spanish immersion program at Bryan Station Middle. She has also taught for Berlitz and KET. She holds an MA in Teaching World Languages (UK), an MA in History (Notre Dame), a BA in Spanish (UK) and a BA in Classics and Linguistics (UK). She found her love of languages in her Spanish here at Mary Queen in the eighth grade and hopes to spread that love to her students.
Micha Gehring - Music Teacher -
Micha Gehring is a professional musician and teacher with over 17 years experience in her field. Mrs. Gehring holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music, and a Master of Music in Music Education from Boston University College of Fine Arts. She began her career as a classically trained opera singer and musical theater performer, before transitioning into the field of teaching music. She has authored two creative music education guides that were distributed to all 120 counties in the state of Kentucky in association with The Lexington Philharmonic (Music Builds Education and Voices of America), as well as an extensive research project entitled A New Vision for Education: STEM to STEAM. Mrs. Gehring is a former member of The Lexington Singers, and holds memberships with KMEA and NAFME, the state and national music education associations, as well as KYACDA, the Kentucky Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. She was once a resident teaching artist with Cincinnati Opera, and her fun claim to fame is that she once sang onstage with Josh Groban in front of 25,000 people!
Allison Weitkamp - Band Teacher -
Mrs. Weitkamp is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 2000, completed two Master’s degrees in Music Education and Instrumental Conducting in 2003, and earned a Rank 1 in Music Education in 2004. Currently, she is employed by the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, where her teaching duties include 5th-12th grade band at LCHS, Mary Queen, and Saints Peter and Paul. From 2002-2007, she taught applied oboe lessons at Transylvania University, and at present, maintains a private studio of middle and high school students. She is a member of many professional organizations including the Kentucky Music Educator’s Association, National Association for Music Education, and the Sigma Alpha Iota Professional Music Fraternity. She resides in Lexington with her husband, Charles; children, James, Julia, and Joey; and their deaf cat, Mori.
Chelsea Wright - ELD Teacher -
Chelsea Wright is our EL (English Learners) Teacher. She became a long-term substitute teacher at MQHRS in the Spring of 2015 and her role evolved from there. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Kentucky and her Master's degree in English as a Second Language from Asbury. She is an alumnus of Lexington Catholic High School and Christ the King School. Ms. Wright enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter as well as spending time with her two dogs.
Ginny Robinson - ACES (Gifted/Talented) Teacher -
Ginny Robinson is the ACES teacher at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary School. She attended Kentucky Christian University, The University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University. Her Bachelor’s degree certifies her to teach regular and special education (learning and behavior disorders). She has an endorsement as a special education consultant. Her Master’s Degree and Rank I are in Guidance Counseling. Ginny retired from Fayette County schools having served thirty-one years as a special education consultant, guidance counselor and technical liaison. Ginny’s son Caleb is a violist studying at the College Conservatory of Music at The University of Cincinnati. Ginny loves to learn and is known for her curiosity! She enjoys gardening, bicycling, collecting geodes, reading and exercising with friends.